A Morphosyntactic Analysis of Some Asante Weed Names

International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation

ISSN: 2617-0299 (Online); ISSN: 2708-0099 (Print)

DOI: 10.32996/ijllt

Journal Homepage: www.al-kindipublisher.com/index.php/ijllt

Page | 189

A Morphosyntactic Analysis of Some Asante Weed Names

Abdulai Akuamah

Department of Languages, St. Joseph’s College of Education, Bechem, Ghana.

Corresponding Author: Abdulai Akuamah, E-mail: [email protected]

ARTICLE INFORMATION ABSTRACT

Received: April 08, 2021

Accepted: May 14, 2021

Volume: 4

Issue: 5

DOI: 10.32996/ijllt.2021.4.5.21

This paper investigates the morphosyntactic features of some indigenous weed names

identified among the Asante people of Ghana. Asante is a dialect of Akan and belongs

to the Kwa (Congo-Niger) language family spoken mainly in Southern Ghana. This

paper discusses some forty-four (44) weed names in Asante. All the data used were

collected from primary sources. The data were collected from twenty (20) native

speakers of Asante through unstructured interviews. The study has revealed various

morphological processes in the language that include affixation, reduplication, and

compounding in terms of morphological structure. The weed names were

morphologically structured as single words, di-morphemic, phrases and clauses

reduced to weed names. Syntactically, these sentential names can be simple,

compound, and complex sentences which can function as declarative and imperative

sentences.

KEYWORDS

weed names, morphosyntactic

analysis, Asante, lexical

morphology, morphology, syntax

1. Introduction 1

Every language in the world make use of names (Anderson 2007). We use names to refer to things we want to talk about in

everyday life. The number and types of names that are ascribed to persons, places, animals, rivers, etc., are highly culture specific

(Van Langendonck, Velde and Hough, 2016). According to Köhnlein (2015), names are an essential category of linguistics. De Klark

(2002) reinforces this idea by stating that conferring names on persons is mainly a linguistics act closely linked to hopes, values,

thanksgiving, fears, and events in the life of the name-giver. Obeng (1998) also indicates that Akan names may reflect the

geographical environment, religion, beliefs, fears, and the people's philosophy of life. Generally, there is a closed resemblance

between a name and the name-bearer. In this way, the name reacts to the culminating experiences of the name-giver. According

to Agyekum (2016), Akan names depict the characteristics of the name-bearer.

Mphande (2006) observes that names present interesting features that reveal semantic and morphological processes involved in

their constructions. He further stressed that in many African cultures, name labels the individual that it denotes, the language from

which it is drawn, and the society that ascribes it. He goes on to explain that a name may reveal the linguistic features and

phonological processes found in the language, the status of referent in the society, and the collective history and the life

experiences of the people surrounding the individual. This assertion is supported by Kongo and Mends (2016), who observe that

construction of names to a large extent depends on the semantics importance the name-giver wants to put across “followed by

the morphological processes which largely depend on the deployment of a network of affixes that are harmonized by relevant

phonological rules.” (p. 610).

Köhnlein (2015) investigated the morphological structure of Dutch names. After the analysis he concluded that the complex place

names derived through suffixation or compounding demonstrated a regular phonological pattern. He found the place names to

be morphologically complex as against theoretical literature claim that place names are morphologically simple. Furthermore, a

study by Kongo and Mends (2016) on contemporary Ewe names showed that the names were morphologically and syntactically

determined. The morphological structure demonstrated that the various morphological processes included affixation,

reduplication and compounding. Syntactically, the names were discovered to be declaratives, imperatives, clefts, clauses, and

Published by Al-Kindi Center for Research and Development, London, United

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phrases names. Onukawa (1995) also discussed Igbo personal names and concluded that Igbo names are derived from clauses.

The study further revealed morphological process where the subject, the verb, and the complement are fused, resulting in the

formation of a noun. A process he referred to the process as decontextualization.

Owu-Ewie (2014), on his part, conducted a study on Fante habitation names (econym). His findings revealed that some Fante

habitation names are morphologically structured as single stems, compounds, inflections (affixation), and reduplication. The study

further demonstrated that Fante habitation names at sentential level could function as statements, interrogatives or imperatives.

Structurally, the sentential place names were classified as simple, compound, or complex sentence. A study conducted by Adomako

(2017) on personal female names demonstrates, the male names are usually suffixed with the suffixes; {-a} or {-aa} or {-wa} to form

female names in Akan.

Furthermore, Koopman and Turner (2019) revealed that Zulu bird names usually have prefix or suffix, indicating whether the name

is singular or plural. They indicate that a generic folk name can give rise to a number of semantically related names which are

morphologically distinct.

Given the linguistics underlying the formation of personal names, habitation names and bird names in Akan, Igbo, Ewe, Dutch, and

Zulu we can conclude that names in general are heavily endowed with morphological, syntactic and semantic features. This gives

credence to Batoma (2006) claim that names are given in particular languages whose morphology, syntax and semantics inform

their meaning to a great extent. Nonetheless, Croft (2001) argues that the semantics of a linguistic expression largely determines

its morphosyntactic construction. To this end, the semantic status of a name is mirrored by certain syntactic called ‘symbolic’ (Van

Langendonck 2007). This implies that in order to understand how a group of people construct names in their language, it is

imperative to determine the morphosyntactic compositions of the names. It is intriguing how names are constructed in different

languages, especially in African cultures. The studies on the various kinds of proper names in Akan and other languages provide a

solid foundation for all languages. Therefore, it is important to establish what holds true for some weed names in Asante dialect

of Akan and this is the central impetus of this study.

Asante is part of the Akan ethnic group, a branch of the Kwa (Congo-Niger) language family spoken mainly in Southern Ghana

and parts of the Ivory Coast. They are found in the Asante region of Ghana and speak Twi as their dialect. The Akans constitute

the largest ethnic group in Ghana. The group consists of the Asante, Fante, Bono, Akuapem, Wassa, Assin, Twifo, and Denkyira.

The Nzema, Sehwi, Anyi, Baule, Ahanta, and Guans speak Akan in addition to their language (Dolphyne 2006). It is estimated that

49.1% of Ghana’s population are native speakers of Akan while 44% speak the language as a second language (Agyekum, 2006).

Three of these dialects of Akan namely, Asante, Fante and Akuapem have attained literary status (Titov, 2019).

2. Literature Review

Lexical Morphology as proposed by Katamba (1993) is a linguistic model developed out of generative grammar (GG) model

championed by Chomsky (1957). Lexical Morphology (LM) is a method of morphological analysis where words are broken down

into functional, meaningful lexical units whose grammatical meanings can be determined or understood (Kongo and Mends, 2016).

According to Mwangi (2015), the main objective of GG is to recognize the nature of linguistic knowledge that language users

exhibit.

In the view of grammarians, the human mind is capable of creating an indefinite number of words. LM aims to analyse such forms

and designs a systematic set of rules that apply to those word forms. The morphological processes involved in creating new words

into a language involve inflection, derivation, compounding, and reduplication. Mwangi (2015) further argues that this theory

makes it possible to analyse word forms at different levels namely; phonological, morphological or syntactical.

2.1 Empirical Studies on Plant Names

The names given to plants have underlying semantico-syntactic to communicate meaning (Leyew 2011). Therefore, names given

to the plants among the Asantes mirror the society of the name-givers. In the context of this paper, a weed is defined as any plant

growing where it is not wanted or a plant or vegetation that interferes with the objectives of farming (Popay 2018). He explains

further that, a plant may be useful in a garden, or on a farm or plantation but if the same plant is growing where it reduces the

value of agricultural produce or spoils aesthetic or environmental values, then it is considered a weed. However, some plants are

always weeds regardless of where they grow. This means that any plant is a potential weed being it a herb, a shrub, or a tree.

Pakia’s (2016) study on Digo plant names and it was revealed that plant naming among the Digo people of Kenya is endowed

with linguistics characteristics. The plant names were found to range from simple words to complex phrases. Variation between

the names was attributed to their noticeable semantic features. The simple words are nouns consisting of a prefix and a noun. The

primary prefixes {mu-} and {m-/mi-} accounted for 80% of the data used for the study. In addition, there a secondary prefixes {chi-

} and {dzi-} that replaced the primary affixes to denote diminutive. Some of the prefixes also denote female gender but not the

case for the male plants. The plants names were also structured as genitive phrases and object phrases. The genitive phrases

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comprise compound words consisting of two independent nouns: chishikio paka ‘cat ear’. An example of the object phrases is

manwa madzi ‘water drinker.’

Green (2009) also examined the linguistic properties of plant names in Ikpana (Logba). The plant names were seen to consist of

morphemes which meanings are decipherable. The names of some of the plants were formed via compounding as in ‘ɔga-(ɔ)y’

and reduplication, eg ofuofuo. Again, the morphemes {osa} and {dze} are attached to the generic name of a plant to indicate

whether a plant is male or female. For instance, the male papaya is called Bafunuba osa. Meanwhile, the plants with single stem

names cannot be broken into meaningful units. Names in this category were classified as opaque names because they do not have

meanings except what they refer to.

The findings from how plants names are formed in Digo and Logba languages support the view that grammar of the

morphosyntactic peculiarities of these names are language-specific (Haspelmath (2010). Thus, the morphosyntactic features may

vary from one language to the other based on the grammar of the language. This view plus Caesar’s (2019) suggestion that names

of any type may have morphosyntactic properties; morphemes, phrases, clauses or sentences that function as declarative,

imperative, subjection and interrogative structures makes it imperative to subject the weed names in Asante to determine the

impact morphology has on the syntactic structure of the Akan language in terms of naming practices.

Many studies have been carried out on Akan names. Majority of them have concentrated on the personal study names. For instance,

Agyekum (2006) did a sociolinguistic study on Akan personal names, Ansu-Kyeremeh (2000) worked on the communication nature

of Bono personal names, while Obeng (1998) has also worked on Death Preventive names. Studies like Owu-Ewie (2014) also

discussed the habitation names in Fante while Adomako (2017) looked at Akan personal female names in the areas of

morphosyntax and morphophonemic. However, Akan (Asante) weed names have not been examined. To this end, the current

study aimed at filling in the lacuna in the literature on names in Akan by looking at how weed names are structured in terms of

morphology and syntax.

2.2 Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to investigate the morphosyntactic components of Asante weed names. The paper identifies and

categorizes the form and structure of these weed names in Asante. Functions of the structures identified are also discussed.

2.3 Research Questions

i. What are the forms of Asante weed names?

ii. Which categories of sentence types can be identified in weed names of Asante?

iii. What are the syntactic functions of the clausal Asante weed names?

3. Methodology

The data for the study was collected from 20 communities in five districts/municipalities in Ghana namely; Kwabre East, Sekyere

Central, Amansie West, Amansie Central, and Bekwai Municipalities in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. There was no special reason

for selecting these communities rather than the researcher’s frequent contacts with the indigenes from these areas. Data collection

started from March 2018 to March 2019. Some forty-four (44) common local weeds found on the streets, backyards and backyard

farms were purposefully selected. In each of the communities, two informants were purposively selected, making the total

participants twenty (20) in all. They were selected because of their in-depth knowledge of the language and their regular encounter

with these weeds. They were predominantly farmers and traditional healers. They used their institutional memory-intuition in

providing the most reliable and etymological meanings of the names of the weeds in the data. The information acquired after my

interactions with them served as the basis for the classification of the names into the various grammatical categories. The

information obtained from them was useful as it enabled me as a native speaker of the language, to identify the morphological

compositions of the words by separating the affixes from the roots. Pictures of the plants were taken and with the aid of a colleague

at the Agriculture Department, the common names and the botanical names were provided in English (see appendix 1). The data

were descriptively analyzed.

4. Findings and Discussions

4.1 Morphological Analysis of Asante Weed Names

This section examines the morphological structures of Asante weed names. The morphological analysis concerns the word. The

analysis is done from the view point of Lexical Morphological which concerns breaking down of words into meaningful lexical units

whose grammatical units are decipherable. (Kongo and Mends, 2016 p. 612). The study showed that the morphological forms of

the Asante weed names were made up of mono-morphemic, di-morphemic and poly-morphemic as in Dangme, Ewe and other

languages. The mono-morphemic weed names in Asante are root words that cannot be further broken down into meaningful

lexical unit without destroying the words. The analysis of some of the mono-morphemic indicated that they could be arbitrary.


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The di-morphemic structure names are the types of names that can be broken down into two meaningful morphemes. They are

compounding, affixation or reduplication. The morphemic components were reduplication compounding, noun phrases and

sentences.

4.1.1 Mono-morphemic Weed Names

The weed names analysed revealed that the structures of Asante weed names are mono-morphemic in nature. They are made up

of free morphemes; they contain roots capable of standing independently as words. This means that these names cannot be further

broken down into smaller units without destroying the word. The meanings of the names that fall under this category are covert.

Their meanings may not be deciphered in Asante. The weed names in Asante and their botanical names a presented in (1a-l).

(1) a. Nyanya ‘Momordica charantia’

b. Awobԑ ‘Phyllanthus muellerianus’

c. Nyanyamforowa ‘Mallotus oppositifolius’

d. Nunum ‘Ocimum gratissimum’

e. Nsensan ‘Eleusinen indica’

f. Mfofo ‘Melanthera scandens’

g. Afama ‘Justicia flava’

h. Kagya ‘Griffonia simplicifolia’

i. Apɔsɔmpɔ ‘Pupalia lappacea’

j. Funtum ‘Funtumia elastic’

k. Ntropo ‘Tropical soda apple’

l. Akyeapɔn ‘Lamb's quarters’

It can be observed from examples (1a-l) that the meanings of the names cannot be deciphered. The meanings of the mono-

morphemic Asante weed names like Akan family names are not palpable. Thus, they are generally monosemic, which is to say they

only carry one meaning: the weed they refer to. As indicated, these words mostly do not have explicit meanings in isolation.

However, they became meaningful when they are metaphorically used in proverbs. For instance, kagya is used metaphorically to

represent a symbiotic relationship. Nyanyamforowa is used to express belittle, unfairness or disparities in the human society.

Fumtum in context can also represent consequences or repercussions, and misfortune. Also, mfofo expresses taking things for

granted. Nunum implies weak or vulnerable. The example (1l) is a personal name. This weed was named after a former military

leader in Ghana whose era the weed invaded the country.

4.1.2 The Di-morphemic Weed Names

The di-morphemic structure of Asante weed names is the types of names whereby the names can be broken down into two

meaningful morphemes. The two morphemes can be put together as one word through compounding, affixation as shown in (2 -

4).

(2) a. abirekyire + abɔdwesԑ Abirekyireabɔdwesԑ

N N

goat beard

‘Goat’s beard’ or ‘Beard of a goat’

b. adanko + aduane Adankoaduane

N N

rabbit food

“Rabbit’s food”

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c. ananse + dɔkono Anansedɔkono

N N

spider kenkey

‘Food of the spider’

d. ananse + akekaduro Ananseakekaduro

N N

Spider ginger

‘Spider’s ginger’

e. akonfem + atiko Akɔnfԑmatikɔ

N N

guinea fowl occiput

‘Guinea fowl’s comb’

f. adanko + meleke Adankomeleke

N N

rabbit milk

‘Rabbit’s milk’

g. akokɔ + mmԑsa Akokɔmmԑsa

N N

Chicken braided hair

‘Chicken’s braided hair’

h. dua + gyeene Duagyeene

N N

tree onion

‘Onion tree’

i. dua + mako Duamako

N N

dua pepper

‘Pepper tree’

j. asawa + dua Asawadua

N N

cotton tree

‘cotton’s tree’

k. borɔferԑ + nini Borɔfenini

N N

papaya male

‘male papaya’


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l. nunum + nini Nunumnini

N N

hoslundia male

‘male hoslundia’

The data demonstrated that weed names in Asante could be noun-noun compounds. The illustration in (2a – l) is a combination

of two nouns to form a single word. Thus, in these examples, animate nouns and inanimate nouns are joined respectively to form

the weed names. For instance, animate nouns abirekyire ‘goat’ adanko ‘rabbit’, ako ‘parrot’, ananse ‘spider’, nantwi ‘cattle’, akɔnfԑm

‘guinea fowl’ and akokɔ ‘chicken’ are animal nouns that function as the head of the compounds in respective words in (2a-e), while

the inanimate nouns in these nouns (abɔdwesԑ ‘beard’ aduane. ‘food’, dɔkono ‘kenkey’, akekaduro ‘ginger’, asaawa ‘cotton’, atiko

‘occiput’ and meleke ‘milk’ ‘mmԑsa’), modify the heads of the compound nouns. Meleke is a borrowed word from English meaning

‘milk’. Unlike (2a-e), the names in (2f-l) are composed of two nouns which are both inanimate. The examples in (2k,l) are

distinguished by the nominal adjective nini ‘male’ used in Akan to mark gender. In this case, they are attached to the generic name

of the plants to determine their sexes.

(3) a. gyina Antwi Gyinantwi

V N

stop Personal Name

‘Stop Antwi.’

b. toa + ntini Toantini

V N

Join vein

‘Join veins.’

Some of the di-morphemic nouns were composed of verb-noun compounds. That is, two free morphemes (a verb and a noun)

were merged to form weed names as illustrated in (3a , b). As indicated above, the Asante name for the ‘Bidens pilosa’,

Gyinatwi is a combination of the verbs gyina ‘stop’ and Antwi ‘Personal name’. Again, Toa ‘join’ and ntini ‘veins’ are put

together to form a new noun, ‘Sweet gum.’

(4) a. a + dwera (V) Adwera

AX purify

‘purifying’

b. ɔ + nwono Ɔnwono

AX ADJ

‘bitter’

The fourth group in this category is affixation which consists of two morphemes. The morphemic structures of these names have

prefixes attached to the roots. They are composed of free morphemes and bound morphemes. The examples (4a, b) are another

form of di-morphemic formation of the weed names in Asante. For instance, adwera is weed name derived from the verb dwera

which means to “purify”. The prefix {a-} is attached to the root without altering the root (i.e. prefix + verb). This form of derivation

in Asante is “verb to noun”. There is also adjective to noun derivation process as seen in example (4b). The root nwono ‘bitter’ to

which the prefix {ɔ-} is attached to create the new name is an adjective.

4.1.3 The Poly-morphemic Weed Names

The poly-morphemic weed names in Asante are made up of compounding, reduplication, phrases, clauses and sentences. The

clause and sentences function as structures. The morphemic forms of the phrasal and sentential names in Asante are made up of

free morphemes and bound morphemes. All the declarative weed names are in the affirmative forms as shown in (7a-c).

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(5) a. asase ne a-boɔ Asaseneaboɔ

N CONJ PLU-N

earth and gravels

‘sand and stones’

b. ngo ne nkyene Ngonenkyene

N CONJ N

palm oil and salt

‘palm oil and salt’

c. twe na ta Twenata

V CONJ V

uproot and fart

‘Uproot and fart’

Morphologically, some of the weed names in Asante have compound structure made up of a noun, a conjunction and a noun, and

a verb-conjunction-verb. The conjunction puts the two nouns together to denote the name of the plant. The examples (5a-b)

above, indicated that the weed names in this category are made up of noun-conjunction-noun are all free morphemes. For

instance, asase ‘earth’, ne ‘and’, and aboɔ ‘gravels’ are merged to represent the weed name asaseneaboɔ. The prenominal plural

morpheme {a-} is attached to the root. Similarly, three free morphemes are merged to engender a new name as in ngo ‘palm oil’,

ne ‘and’ and nkyene ‘salt’ see example (5b). While the free morphemes twe ‘uproot’, na ‘and’, and ta ‘fart’ are reduce to form a

name for the weed ‘cida.’

(6) a. ananse turom ahoma Ananseturomahoma

N N N

spider anus tread

‘A tread in spider’s anus’

The morphemic composition of (6a) is noun-noun-noun compound. Thus, the three free morphemes (all nouns) are joined to

create a name for the weed ‘centrosema’ in Asante.

Owu-Ewie (2014) defines reduplication as the process of forming a new word either by doubling entire free morphemes or part of

it. Akan made use of both partial and total reduplication of the root. Three weeds were identified in this category. Both roots and

prefixes were completely reduplicated. See the table below:

(7) a. n-kasɛe n-kasɛe Nkasɛenkasɛe

N N

PLU-thorn PLU-thorn

‘thistles’

b. n-kwadaa n-kwadaa borɔdeԑ Nkwadaankwadaaborɔdeԑ

PLU-Child PLU-child plantain

‘Childrens’ Plantain

c. n-kwadaa n-kwadaa borɔdeɛ nini Nkwadaankwadaaborɔdenini

PLU- Child PLU- child plantain male

‘Male childrens’ plantain’


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It can be observed from the data that some of the names are formed through compound reduplication. Obviously, these names

are made up of inflectional affixes followed by the noun which is reduplicated in its entirety as demonstrated in (7a). Also, in (7b-

c) it can be seen that additional noun(s) can be added to the reduplicated root to create new words. Therefore, the weed name

consists of an affix-noun-reduplicant-noun compound as indicated in (7a). It can further be observed that the reduplicated noun

is in plural form because in Akan only plural nouns may be reduplicated (see Dolyphne 1988). So the morphemic component is a

nominal plural prefix {n-} attached to a root kwadaa ‘child’. Both morphemes are totally reduplicated and joined to another noun

borɔdeɛ ‘plantain’ to create a new word, nkwadaankwadaaborɔdeɛ.

(8) a. Kaka we adwe Kakatweadwe

N V N

Toothache chews palm kernel

‘Toothache chews palm kernel.’

b. Pepe a-di a-wuo Pepeadiawuo

N PERF-V PERF-V

Northern eaten die

‘A northerner ate and died.’

c. Nyame n-wu na m(e) awu. Nyamenwunamawu

N NEG-V CONJ PRO V

God won’t-die and I die

‘God won’t die so I will not die’

The declaration sentence in (8a) consists of free morphemes. Meanwhile, the sentential names in (8b, c) are composed of both free

morphemes and bound morphemes. For instance, in (8b) the bound morpheme {a-} which is the perfect marker in Akan is attached

to the roots di and wu to mark the tense. (8c) comprises of free morphemes and has bound morphemes, {n-} and {a-}. The

progressive negative prefix {n-} attached to the root wu to express negation while the perfect is marked by prefix {a-} in ‘God is

not dying so I will not die’ Nyamenwunamewu. Again, there is a phonological process where [ɪ] in [mɪ] “I” is truncated when it

precedes low central vowel [a] in Asante Twi.

(9) a. Aberewa kata wo twe Aberewakatawotwԑ

N V PRO N

Old lady cover your vagina

‘Old lady cover you vagina.’

b. Kra wo ni Krawoni

N PRO N

bid you mother

‘Bid farewell to your mother.’

c. Gu a-kuro Guakuro

V PLU-N

collapse towns

‘deserted towns.’

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d. Bɔ wo m-ma gu w(o) akyi Bɔwommaguwakyi

V PRO PLU-N V PRO PP

Bear your seeds at your back

‘Bear your seed behind you.’

The morphemic components of the sentential imperative weed names in (9a, b) are made of free morphemes from different word

class. However, in (9c, d), the names are made up of both free morphemes and bound morphemes. The verb root kuro “town” in

(9d) and the first root ba (seed) in (9e) to which plural markers {a-} and {n-} respectively attached are nouns. {a-} in (9c) and (9d)

are bound morphemes. The bound morphemes; {a-} and {m-}, inflect for the plural forms of akuro and mma. The plural marker

{m-} when precedes /b/ in Asante assimilates to become [m].

4.2 Syntactic analysis of Akan weed names

As indicated in the literature, some proper names (place names and personal names) in Akan are made up of phrases and clauses

since they have definite word-class elements. They consist of pronouns, nouns, verbs, adjective, postposition and conjunction.

Syntactic level means that many of the weed names indicate they are phrases, clauses, and sentences. Let us look at the examples

below.

4.2.1. Phrasal weed names

(10) a. abirekyire + abɔdwesԑ Abirekyireabɔdwesԑ

NP NP

goat beard

“Goat’s beard”

b. adanko + aduane Adankoaduane

NP NP

rabbit food

‘rabbit’s food’

c. ako + bɔwerɛ Akobɔwerɛ

NP NP

parrot nails

‘Parrot’s claw’

d. ananse + dɔkono Anansedɔkono

NP NP

Spider’s kenkey

e. ananse + akekaduro Ananseakekaduro

NP NP

Spider’s ginger

f. akokɔ + mmԑsa Akokɔmmԑsa

NP NP

Chicken braided hair

‘Chicken’s braided hair’


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g. akɔnfԑm + atikɔ Akonfԑmatikɔ

NP NP

guinea fowl occiput

‘Guinea fowl’s comb’

h. asawa + dua Asawadua

NP NP

cotton tree

‘Cotton’s tree’

i. dua + gyeene Duagyeene

NP NP

tree onion

‘Onion tree’

j. dua + mako Duamako

NP NP

tree pepper

‘Pepper tree’

k. borɔferԑ + nini Borɔfenini

NP NP

papaya male

‘Male papaya’

l. nunum + nini Nunumnini

NP NP

hoslundia male

‘Male hoslundia’

As we observed from the data (10a - l) Asante weed names are composed of noun phrases. Examples in (10a-g) are made up of

possessive phrases. Syntactically, these categories of names are structures such that the possessors precede the possessed, as in

the case of all noun possessive construction (see Obeng 1998). As exemplified in (10a-g) the first noun is the possessor while the

second noun is possessed. In (10h), the noun asaawa ‘cotton’ is functioning as an adjective modifying the head noun dua ‘tree’. In

this case both the modifier and the modified are both singular nouns. This means that a noun can modify a noun and if it precedes

the head noun. Unlike (10h) where the modifier precedes the modified, in (10i-l) the modifiers come after the modified. For

instance, in duagyeene and duamako; the modifiers gyeene “onion” and “mako” come after the modified ‘dua’ in both cases

respectively.

(11) a. asase ne aboɔ asaseneaboɔ

NP CONJ NP

earth and gravels

‘Soil and gravels’

b. ngo ne nkyene ngonenkyene

NP CONJ NP

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palm oil and salt

‘Palm oil and salt’

Syntactically, noun-conjunction-nouns weed names in (11a, b) are considered a single unit. It is a noun phrase with both nouns

functioning as heads. The weed names in this category are combined using conjunction ne ‘and’. The ne ‘and’ is a noun phrase

connective. These phrases are called conjoined Noun Phrases.

(12) a. n-kwadaa n-kwadaa borɔdeԑ Nkwadaankwadaaborɔdeԑ

PLU-Child PLU-child plantain

‘Childrens’ plantain’

b. n-kwadaa n-kwadaa borɔdeɛ nini Nkwadaankwadaaborɔdeԑnini

PLU-child PLU-child plantain male

‘Male childrens’ plantain’

In (12a) the data revealed that the noun nkwadaankwadaa is functioning as an adjective modifying the head nouns borɔdeɛ

‘plantain’ respectively. This means that noun can modify nouns and when they do, it precedes the head noun. Similarly, in (12b),

we observe that the gender nouns nini ‘male’ is a postmodifer. It modifies the noun nkwadaankwadaaborɔdeԑ.

4.3 Sentential Weed Names

The names with sentential structures were analyzed under two sub-categories: sentence function and sentence structure. The

sentences by function were further categorized as declarative and imperative. See examples 12 and 13 respectively. There were no

interrogative sentences in the Asante name system of the weeds. Structurally, the Asante weed names have been identified as

simple, compound and complex sentences.

4.3.1 Declarative Weed Names

The analysis showed that Asante weed names can be declarative. They are statements written together as names. Declaratives are

statements that express judgments, opinions or facts. Structurally, declaratives usually have their subjects coming before their

verbs.

(13) a. Kaka we adwe. Kakatweadwe

NP VP NP

Toothache chews palm kernel

‘Toothache chews palm kernel’

b. Nyame n-wu na m(e) a-wu. Nyamenwunamawu

NP NEG-die CONJ I PERF die

‘God will not die, so I will not die.’

c. Pepe a-di a-wuo Pepeadiawuo

NP PERF-eaten PERF-die


From the data in examples (13a-c), the Asante weed names have explicit subjects. In example (13a) the sentence has the structure

SVO while (13b, c) have SV patterns. These statements are facts.

4.3.2 Imperative weed names

On the other hand, a command sentence usually has no subject and the verb is in the imperative mood. These kinds of clauses

can have varying levels of intensity which is shown by fluctuating loudness and abruptness of voice quality (Dixon 2005: 30).

(14) a. Toa ntini Toantini

VP NP


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Join veins

‘Join wound.’

b. Twe ta Tweta

VP NP

Uproot fart

‘Uproot and fart.’

c. Gu a-kuro Guakuro

V PLU-N

Collapse towns

‘Deserted town.’

d. Kra wo ni Krawoni

VP 2SG-POSS NP

bid your mother

‘Bid farewell to your mother.’

e. gyina Antwi Gyinantwi

VP NP

Stop Personal Name

‘Stop Antwi’

f. Bɔ wo m-ma gu w(o) akyi Bɔwommaguwakyi

V PRO PLU-N VP 2SG-poss PP

Bear your seeds at your back

g. Aberewa kata wo twԑ Aberewakatawotwԑ

NP VP 2SG-POSS NP

Old lady cover your vagina

‘Old lady cover your vigina.’

As indicated in (14a-g) Asante weed names can be imperative clauses. The examples in (14a -f) have no palpable stated subjects.

The covert subject in each case is the pronoun wo, ‘you’. Thus, the subject wo is implied (Owu-ewie 2014). In (14g) however, the

imperative clause has a subject Aberewa ‘Old lady’.

4.3.3 Weeds Names with Simple Sentence Structures

A simple sentence contains a simple independence clause. It is the most basic type of sentence. It consists of only one main clause

that can stand alone and does not depend on any other. According to (Afreh, 2006), a simple sentence can be as short as one

word.

(15) a. Gyina Antwi Gyinantwi

VP PN

Stop Personal name

‘Stop Antwi!’

b. Gu a-kuro Guakuro

VP PLU-NP

Collapse towns

‘Deserted town.’

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c. Kaka we adwe Kakaweadwe

NP VP NP

toothache chews palm kernel

‘Tootache can chew palm kernel’

d. Aberewa kata wo twԑ Aberewakatawotwԑ

N V 2SG-POSS N

old lady cover your vagina

‘Old lady cover your vigina.’

e. Kra wo ni Krawoni

VP 2SG PRO NP

bid your mother

‘Bid farewell to your mother’

f. Bɔ wo m-ma gu w(o) akyi Bɔwommaguwakyi

VP PRO PLU-N V 2SG-POSS PP

bear your seeds bear your back

‘Bear your seeds behind you.’

The structure of the Asante weed names can be simple sentences with the constituents of a clause (subject, verb and object) as

exemplified in (15a- f). It is observable from (15a-f) that the subjects of the simple clauses of weed names in Asante may have or

may not be palpably stated. While the subjects in (15a, b, e, f) are covert, the constructions in (15c, d) have their subjects explicitly

stated. The covert subject in each case is the pronoun, wo, ‘you’ which is implied as indicated by Owu-Ewie (2014). Structurally, the

examples in (15a-e) have the clause pattern SVO consisting of subject, verb and noun (object) as shown in (15a-d). However, the

constructions in (15e, f) have their subjects explicitly stated. In constructions, (15c, d), Kaka ‘Toothache’, and Aberewa ‘Old lady’

are head nouns and we ‘chew’, kata ‘cover’ function as verbs in the constructions while adwe ‘palm kernel’ and wo twԑ ‘your vigina’

are the objects. Since the object in each clause is one, the verbs are monotransitive. Wo twԑ ‘your vigina’ in (15d), wo ni ‘your

mother’ (15e), w’akyi ‘your back’ and wo mma ‘your seeds’ in (15f) are possessive noun phrases.

4.3.4 Weeds with compound sentence structure

Structurally, the names of Asante weed names were compound sentences. According to (Afreh, 2006) compound sentence consists

of two or more independent clauses joined by the co-ordinate conjunctions ‘and’, ‘but’ and ‘or’. Like English, Asante, compound

sentences are linked by co-ordinate conjunctions na ‘and’, anaa,’or’ or nanso ‘but’.

(16) a. Twe ta Tweta

VP VP

uproot fart

‘Uproot and fart’

b. Nyame nwu na m(e) a-wu. Nyamenwunamawu.

NP NEG-die CONJ PRO PERF-die

‘God wiil not die, so I will not die.’

c. Pepe a-di a-wu Pepeadiawu

Northerner PERF-eat PERF-die



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It can be seen in (16a) that the construction Tweta does not have explicit coordinating conjunctions. This phenomenon is what

Owu-Ewie (2014) referred to as ‘asyndetic coordination’.. Twe (na) ta ‘Uproot fart’. Here the two sentences are reduced to a single

word to form a name for the plant. Meanwhile the example in (16b) has an overt subject. The two independent clauses are

connected by explicit coordinating conjunction na ‘and’. In (16c), there is a serial verb construction with the subject ‘Pepe’. The two

verbs in succession share the same subject ‘Pepe’. The two verbs are inflected for tenses. The {a-} in adi and awu are both perfect

tense markers. This is typical for Akan serial verb constructions since they are normally inflected for the tense, indicated aspect,

and polarity affixes. In (16a-c), it is realized that all the independent clauses in each compound sentence are intransitive in nature.

4.3.5 Weeds with Complex Sentence Structure

Complex constructions in Asante are composed of at least a subordinate clause and a main clause. The subordinate clause of

Asante weed name in this category is characterised “by (sɛ) ….. a,. The (sɛ) components is optional but the a (particle) and the

comma are compulsory elements.” (Owu-Ewie, 2014, p. 242).

(17) a. (sɛ wo) tan me a, wu Tanmeawu

VP 1PRO CON VP

hate me if die

‘If you hate me, die.’

The data in (17a) demonstrated that, the construction is a complex sentence. The first part of the sentence which is a dependent

clause (sɛ wo)tan me a, ‘If you hate me,’ is a conditional clause. The construction has the imperative form wu ‘die’ as the second

independent clause. It is a transitive construction and has a covert subject wo ‘you’.

5. Conclusion

This study sought to discuss and analyze the morphosyntactic structures of Asante weed names. Katamba’s (1993) Lexical

Morphology theory developed from Generative Grammar was used for the study. In terms of distribution, the morphological

components are engendered from morphemes by joining roots with other roots and with affixes at the syntactic level. These words

are arranged to form phrases, clauses and sentences.

Morphologically, the study discovered that Asante weed names could be classified into mono-morphemic, di-morphemic and

poly-morphemic. The mono-morphemic names have single word roots. Some are metaphoric in nature and do not express

complete thought of the name-givers unless they are use in context. For example, kagya has covert meaning; however, when it is

used in proverb with termite mount, it expresses symbiotic relationship. The data also revealed that the di-morphemic names

formed as a result of compounding (noun-noun, verb-noun), reduplication and affixation. The poly-morphemic names are

composed of phrases, conjoined clauses, reduplication-noun and sentences that function as indicative and imperative structures

at the syntactic level. The phrasal and sentential names are made up of both free and bound morphemes. The bound morphemes

are affixes.

The data demonstrated that syntactically, Asante weed names could be lexical phrasal, clausal and sentential structures.

Functionally, there are declarative and imperative reduced to form weed names. Structurally, they were identified to be simple,

compound and complex sentences. At the phrasal level, all the Asante weed names are noun phrases. The data above revealed

that Asante weed names are endowed with rich linguistic properties ranging from phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics.

In a nutshell, Asante weed names like personal and other proper names have morphosyntactic rules influencing their formation

among the Asantes (Akans). As illustrated in the study, these findings will add up to the limited literature on the language and the

morphosyntactic study of plants names universally.

Abbreviations Used

N= Noun, V= verb, PRO= Pronoun, CONJ- Conjunction, NP =Noun Phrase, PP =Postposition, PLU = Plural Marker, PERF =

Perfective, POSS= Possessive, PROG = Progressive, SVO= Subject, Verb, Object, V= Verb, VP= Verb Phrase, 2SG= Second Person

Singular Pronoun, 1PS=First Person Singular, 2SG. = Second Person Singular Pronoun

Conflict of interest: There was no conflict of interest declared by the author.

Funding: This research received no external funding.”

Acknowledgments: Special thanks to my wife Deborah Karikari Anane and the participants for their unflinching support.

IJLLT 4(5): 189-205

Page | 203

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Appendices

Appendix 1: Asante weed names and their English Equivalence.

S/N Weed name in Asante English Gloss Common/Botanical

name

1. Nyanya Covert Momordica charantia

2. Awobԑ Covert Phyllanthus

muellerianus

3. Nyanyamforowa Covert Mallotus oppositifolius

4. Nunum Covert Ocimum gratissimum

5. Nsensan Covert Eleusinen indica

6. Mfofo Covert Melanthera scandens

7. Afama Covert Justicia flava

8. Kagya Covert Griffonia simplicifolia

9. Apɔsɔmpɔ Covert Pupalia lappacea

10. Funtum Covert Funtumia elastic

https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/751

http://doi.org/10.5334/gjgl.576


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11. Ntropo Covert Tropical soda apple

12. Akyeampɔn Personal Name Lamb's quarters

chromalaema odorata

13. Abirekyireabɔdwesԑ Goat’s weed Crowsfoot grass

14. Adankoaduane Rabbit’s food Tridax procumbens

15. Akobɔwerɛ Parrot’s claws -

16. Anansedɔkono Spider’s kenkey Lantana camara

17. Ananseakekaduro Spider’s ginger Wild ginger

18. Akonfematiko Guinea fowl’s comb Heliotropium

indicum/Heliotrope

19. Adankomeleke Rabbit’s milk Wild poinsettia

20. Akokɔmmԑsa Chicken’s braided

hair

Scent weed/ African

basil weed

21. Asaaawadua Cotton’s tree Gossypium hirsutum

22. Duagyeene Onion tree Nim tree Azadirachta

indica

23. Duamako Pepper tree Drypetes aubrevillei

24. Gyinantwi Stop Antwi Bidens pilosa

25. Toantini Join vein Sweet gum

Paullinia pinnata

26. Adwera Purification Mint

27. Ɔnwono Bitter Vernonia amygdalina

28. Twenata

Uproot and fart Common wireweed (sida

acuta)

29. Ananseturomahoma Thread in spider’s

anus

Butterfly pea

(Centrosema pubescens)

30. Nkasɛenkasɛe Thistles Joyweed(Alternanthera

pungens)

31. Nkwadaankwadaaborɔdeԑ Children’s plantain Cassia occidentalis

32. Kakatweadwe Toothache chews

palm kennel

asthma weed

(Euphorbia hirta)

33. Pepeadiawuo A northerner ate and

died.

Solanum erianthum

34. Nyamenwunamawu God will not die so I

will not die.

Commelina

35. Aberewakatawotwԑ Old lady cover your

vagina.

Mimosa pudica

36. Krawoni Bid your mother

goodbye.

-

37. Guakuro Heal wounds Goat weed

38. Bɔwommaguwakyi Bear your seed

behind you.

Gale of wind / hurricane

weed

39. asaseneaboɔ Sand and gravels Prostrate

spurge/sandmat

40. Ngonenkyene Palm oil and salt Cleistopholis patens

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41. Tanmeawu If you hate me, die. Life plant (Bryophyllum

pinnatumm)

42. Nkwadaankwadaaborɔdeԑnini Male Cassia

occidentalis

Senna occidentalis

43. Nunumnini

Male ocimum

gratissimum

Hoslundia opposite

44. borɔfenini Male papaya Male papaya

A Morphosyntactic Analysis of Some Asante Weed Names

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